Job 39

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 5

39:5-7 wild donkey . . . hates (literally scorns) the noise of the city: This is the first in a series of animals that scorn others who are their inferiors in some way (cp. 39:18, 22; 41:29). These images illustrate how God scorns the opposition of a man like Job (see Ps 2:4).

Verse 9

39:9-12 Now extinct and already rare by Moses’ time, the wild ox was the most powerful land animal in early Canaan. This Old Testament symbol of strength (Num 23:22; 24:8; Deut 33:17; Pss 29:6; 92:10) was never tamed (cp. Gen 1:28; 9:2; Ps 8:5-6).

Verse 13

39:13-18 In the ancient Near East, the ostrich had a reputation as a bird that God had deprived of wisdom.

Verse 14

39:14-16 The ostrich is a symbol of neglect for her young (Lam 4:3) because she (1) lays her eggs on top of the earth; (2) appears to leave her eggs to die when a predator approaches them (although she is probably attempting to lure the predator away from the nest); and (3) lays her eggs with several other hens in one nest, so most of the eggs are not her own.

Verse 18

39:18 passes (literally scorns) the swiftest horse with its rider: See 39:7, 22; 41:29.

Verse 24

39:24 The ram’s horn was sounded in combat to call for the charge (Josh 6:4-6).

Verse 30

39:30 Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it—feeding on the remains (Ezek 39:17-19; Matt 24:28; Luke 17:37).